The Space Between You and I
by Draco'sBrokenAngel
Summary: Every generation at Hogwarts has a famous rivalry. Vivian Gremond and Damon Jokovich are no exception to this trend. A rather nasty fight lands them both in serious trouble. Will they ever learn to get along or risk being expelled from Hogwarts?
1. And So It Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I'd be the one making the money instead of J.K Rowling! All I own is the characters and plot. This is set some years after the War. Most of the characters are made up. I may use a couple of Rowling's here and there.

Chapter One:

Vivian Gremond didn't like the cold weather. She hated it, in fact. Loathed it with a fury that made her heart cringe away in fear and her soul take a vacation elsewhere. Her hatred for the snow-blanketed world around her just couldn't quite match up to the hatred she felt for the boy before her.

"Would you bugger off, already?" she screamed, her face contorting with anger.

"Of course not! That would please you, and Merlin knows I don't want that to happen," the boy sneered back.

The mentioned boy stood taller than the girl before him by a good eight inches. His muscular figure was a contrast by far to her slim frame. She was about average height for a female at the age of sixteen, but that was about it. Her curves were slightly defined, mostly hidden by the baggy clothes she wore. Her dark red hair whipped around her as the wind tried to batter her to death. The boy's stark black hair didn't seem to bother him as much, as it wasn't long enough to get into his eyes. Vi glared daggers at Damon Jokovich, hoping he would disintegrate into nothing from the intensity.

"You need to get a life," she spat as she tried to move past him.

Damon smirked, knowing it would irritate the Ravenclaw. "Oh, but I have one! My sole purpose for living is to make your life miserable!" he laughed mockingly, moving in her way to block her from going inside.

Vi pulled her scarf tighter around her and prayed to the Gods that this terrible git would just freaking die!

"Will you move already? I don't want to waste anymore of my time with the likes of you!" she yelled. She tried to walk past him once more, but he blocked that as well.

"Is the little girl getting cold?" he teased. There just wasn't anything better than this! Except, he was also cold. He wouldn't go in, though, as long as she was having a hard time.

Other students passed by the couple, staring and whispering as they walked into the safety of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It surely was a sight to see.

Vi was on her last straw. This pathetic excuse for a human being had been torturing her since their First Year! Hadn't he had enough? They stood in a tense silence for what seemed to Vi an eternity in Hell. Her glare didn't falter, and neither did his smirk.

"Do you like staring at my face? It is quite marvelous, isn't it? A model of perfection, I say," he stated arrogantly. It made Vi want to puke.

"It'd look better with an anvil smashing into it," she retorted.

Damon laughed, "Yours wouldn't look good no matter what happened to it!"

Vi had had enough. Before she knew it, her fist slammed right into that "perfect" nose and a sickening crunch could be heard. Just because she was small didn't mean she couldn't hit like a guy. She was raised by her father and two older brothers, after all.

A fatal quiet followed for a few seconds. It seemed that the whole planet Earth had stopped spinning on its axis and so had the rest of the universe. Before she knew it, however, Vi was felt something hard collide with her stomach and air couldn't find its way to her lungs. Everything went black for a moment, and then Vi heard a lot of noise. It was highly irritating. What was making such a racket? She opened her eyes and had trouble making out the objects in her line of vision. When her eyes came into focus, she realized that a huge crowd stood around her. There was a whimpering nearby, but the maker of it wasn't within her sight. Someone pulled her to her feet. They were saying something to her, but her mind couldn't quite grasp what it was. Then, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her along. She saw the maker of the whimpering being pulled on the other side of whoever was doing the dragging.

"...you're both in more trouble than you can imagine! Wait until the Headmistress sees this...this...catastrophe! Fighting on school grounds? Sixth Years, nonetheless! You would think that you both would know the rules by now!" the person scolded.

Vi recognized the person holding her arm as Professor Hamming, instructor of Transfiguration and Head of Vi's own house.

"She started it!" a male voice whined childishly. She also recognized the whimperer to be none other than Damon.

Vi's anger returned. "Started it? You deserved it! You wouldn't even let me in-"

"ENOUGH!" Professor Hamming shouted, coming to an abrupt stop. "I will NOT hear another word out of either of you! Save your silly little banter for the Headmistress, because I am not going to put up with it!" Vi's face drained of color, which seemed to flow into the Professor's very red face. Oh, she was definitely in for it now.


	2. This Can't Be Good

Chapter Two:

"He wouldn't let me-"

"She was-"

"And then he-"

"Silence!" Headmistress McGonnagal yelled. "I want to know what happened without anymore of this...ignorance! One at a time. Ms. Gremond, you will go first," the Headmistress nodded towards the flustered Ravenclaw.

"Why does she get to go first?" Damon whined.

"Mr. Jokovich, if you can't keep your mouth shut and wait until I tell you to speak, I will send you directly to Filch's office and have him decide your punishment for me!" she announced sternly.

Damon closed his mouth and stared at the floor, obviously defeated. Vi glanced over at the Slytherin before beginning.

"I was heading back to the castle from Herbology when that git-"

"Ms. Gremond, you will refer to him as Mr. Jokovich and nothing more, is that understood?" McGonnagal lectured.

Vi nodded and continued. "When Mr. Jokovich," she bit off his name venomously, "ran up to me and started bugging me."

"Please clarify what you mean by 'bugging,' Ms. Gremond."

"He...he started teasing me, saying I wasn't smart enough to be in Ravenclaw, and he knew Hufflepuffs that deserved my House more than I do," Vi said. It sounded stupid when she told the story. It really was childish, wasn't it? 

"Continue," the Headmistress demanded simply.

Vi fidgeted. "Then, I told him he definitely belonged in Slytherin, because he is a slimy, worthless little-"

"I am not!" Damon argued.

"I will not tolerate this once more. I will send you both to Filch if you can't be civil in my office. Ms. Gremond, please recall the events without insulting your classmate."

Vi shot Damon a threatening look before turning back to the Headmistress. "Anyways, we insulted each other back and forth. I told him to bug- err...to leave me alone. He wouldn't though, and he blocked my way when I tried to move past him. We started insulting each other again, and one thing he said really got under my skin. I hit him in the nose, and I can only recall being dragged to your office by Professor Hamming after that," she finished.

McGonnagal turned to the boy, whose nose was clearly broken and swollen twice its normal size despite the spells she and Professor Hamming had performed on it.

"Now, Mr. Jokovich, you may speak," she granted.

Damon returned the dirty look to Vi as he told his side. "I was walking back from the Quidditch Pitch after practice, when she came up and started calling me names."

"That's a lie!" Vi shouted, her blood boiling at the audacity of the Slytherin.

The Headmistress shot her a warning look before turning back to Damon. "Go on," she said, folding her hands and sitting them on top of the well-polished desk.

"She insulted my friends and then my family. When I tried to leave, she threatened to use the body-binding hex on me, levitate me to the lake, and let me drown," he lied with a straight face.

McGonnagal sat up and raised her eyebrows. "What did you do, Mr. Jokovich?"

Damon fought to withhold his smirk. He had her going. "I told her I would report her to you, Headmistress, if she didn't stop harassing me. Instead of leaving, she punched me in the noise and went for her wand. To stop her, I hit her in the stomach. It was only in self-defense, Headmistress. I would never hurt a girl unless it was to protect myself." Damon's face had the look of complete innocence, and Vi swore she really was going to drown him.

After thinking over the situation, the Headmistress spoke carefully. "Are you sure that's what happened, Mr. Jokovich? Because that is a very serious claim."

Damon's eyes didn't leave McGonnagal's, nor did his face waver. "I swear, Headmistress. That's what happened."

Vi snorted and leaned on her elbow, somehow finding amusement in the actions of her enemy.

Headmistress McGonnagal turned to the other student. "What is so funny to you, Ms. Gremond?"

Vi sat up and looked the Headmistress dead in the eye. "Because his little charade makes him look a complete and utter fool," she said with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Damon went to reach for his wand, but he was suddenly incapable of moving his body. "Mr. Jokovich, I will not tolerate this is my school. I do not know which of you is telling the truth, but I will most definitely find out! When I do, there will be dire consequences for the one who lied. As for now, you will both find yourself on cleaning duty in the Dungeons. Professor Hamming has offered to supervise. Don't think you can sneak off just because you're in the Dungeons, Mr. Jokovich, and don't expect to get off easy with you Head of House, Ms. Gremond. You're both banned from Hogsmeade trips until further notice, and Mr. Jokovich will not be playing in the match against Hufflepuff next Saturday."

"What? You can't-"

"Yes, I can, Mr. Jokovich. If anything else occurs, you will be banned from playing for the rest of the year. If I see either of you in this office again except I call for you, I will see to it that you're expelled from Hogwarts permanently." Her tone was as serious as serious could get. Vi shuddered and Damon grimaced. This was going to be quite interesting.


	3. It All Comes Crashing Down

Chapter Three:

Vi trudged up the stairs to the Ravenclaw Commons. It had been a long, studious day, and it wasn't going to get any better. She started her punishment tonight with the ding-bat, directly after dinner. She only had thirty minutes- _thirty minutes!_- to eat before leaving to get to the Dungeons in time. Surely, she was going to starve to death within a week if that's how her every day was planned. Once reaching her dorms, she dropped her bag onto the floor and collapsed backwards on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling and hoped it would fall in on her right then. If she was dead, she wouldn't have to endure forever with _him_. After finally deciding the roof wasn't on her side today, she got up and changed into something warmer. It was colder in the Dungeons than it was outside! She was nice and cozy in her thick sweater, gloves, and scarf. She could easily take a nap, and her bed looked unusually inviting.

"Nope, not today Vi. Not ever if that git has anything to say it in," she referred to the Slytherin she would be sharing her punishment with.

Vi heaved a big sigh before heading back downstairs to the Great Hall. "Here we go," she thought sarcastically.

Down in the dank and dark Dungeons of Hogwarts was a very ticked off Slytherin. Said Slytherin was immersed in his trunk, throwing objects out left and right. His roommate and best friend, Ian Deroy, was dodging the objects threatening to hit him in his head.

"Whoa mate! Lighten up, will you? It's just a stinkin' piece of paper!" Ian exclaimed, dodging yet another random object that nearly hit his temple. "Seriously, Damon! Are you trying to kill me?"

Damon jumped up from his trunk and spun around in a circle. "Finally! I never thought I'd find it," he said, relieved.

Ian regarded Damon with a critical eye. "It won't work, I tell you. Professor Hamming isn't going to accept any excuse. She was given orders from McGonnagal herself."

Damon rolled his eyes. "What do you know? Professor Flemmons is my Head of House. She doesn't know it was given to me for another purpose. He didn't date it," he said matter-of-factly.

"You're such a dolt," Ian muttered, walking to his bed.

Damon narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "It will work, just you watch," he challenged right before walking out of the dorm.

"I won't say I told you so!" Ian yelled after the fellow Slytherin. He shook his head and plopped his head back onto the pillow. "That man never does know when to listen."

Damon arrived at the meeting spot just as Vi did. They were both late, of course. Not to their surprise, Professor Hamming was tapping her foot impatiently.

"When you are told to be here at 5:45, you get here at _five forty-five_. This isn't some game. This is your punishment and I expect this won't happen again. Is that clear?" she hounded.

Vi and Damon both rolled their eyes and replied in unison, "Yes, Professor."

"Good. Now, we'll begin in Professor Flemmons's Potions closet. He said it was in disarray after today's lesson and needed to be straightened up for tomorrow. You are to make sure all ingredients are in their proper place, clean up any messes, dust, and make an inventory of everything. I have some business to attend to, but I will be randomly popping in to make you're doing what you're supposed to," the Professor finished as she turned to leave. "And one more thing: no wands. I will be confiscating them now, actually," she turned back and held out her hands.

Vi pulled her wand out and handed it to the Professor begrudgingly. Damon, on the other hand, did not. Instead, he pulled out a piece of parchment.

"What is that, Mr. Jokovich?" she questioned.

Damon gave a small smile and replied, "It's a note from Professor Flemmons. He said he wants me to help him in his office instead."

Professor Hamming didn't give the paper another glance. "I want your wand, Mr. Jokovich. The Headmistress said there were no excuses unless you are dead. Even then, she would make your ghost fulfill the punishment. Therefore, there is no excuse." She beckoned with her hand.

Damon scowled as he reached in his pocket. When she enclosed her hand around it, Damon wouldn't let go. "Mr. Jokovich, now." Damon let go, but not without a vicious sneer.

Professor Hamming eyed him as she pocketed both wands. "I will also be checking the closet for recent traces of magic in case either of you," she kept her gaze on Damon, "try to find a way around it! Remember, I'll be popping in randomly. I would suggest you do as you're told." With that, Professor Hamming turned on her heel and marched down the corridor.

Vi turned to Damon and shrugged. "Might as well get to it."

Damon scowled at her. "This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you."

"Wasn't for me? You're the one who started the whole thing!" Vi argued.

Damon huffed. "That's not what McGonnagal thinks."

Vi rounded on him. "If you weren't such a sneaky little liar, she would know the truth! Being a Slytherin, you wouldn't know what the truth was if it slapped you in the face."

"I know it'd be better than having to be in the same room as you!" he retorted.

Vi glared at him, but she didn't say another word. She went to work stoppering up left-open vials and putting ingredients back into their containers. Damon leaned against the doorframe and yawned. She turned around and stared at him incredulously. "What? Do you think I'll do all the work for you? Get your lazy arse over here and help!"

Damon laughed at her. "This is women's work. And a Slytherin never gets his hands dirty."

"Oh, excuse me. I forgot you were a spoiled brat who had servants cater to him his whole, stupid life!"

Damon stood up straight. "I am not stupid!"

"I didn't call you stupid, I said you're life was stupid. Maybe I should call you that, though, since you're acting like a moron."

He kicked a shelf in response, and he did so a little too hard. Vials came crashing down around them both. Vi covered her face and turned away. Damon leapt backwards in surprise. Once the shock wore off, he snapped back to his normal self. "Look what you did!"

"What are you talking about? You kicked the shelf! I'm not cleaning that up. It's your mess, your problem."

Damon gaped at her. "You can't expect me to be able to clean this up before Hamming comes back, can you?"

Vi smirked at him. "As I said, your mess, your problem."

Damon returned the smirk. "I doubt she'll see it that way.

"Ugh!" she screamed frustratingly. He was probably right. She knelt down and began picking up the glass. "Well? I'm not doing this alone!"

Damon bent down beside her with a disgruntled noise in protest. Vi's smirk sat smugly on her face. Slytherins do get their hands dirty, sometimes.


	4. Of All The Days

Chapter Four:

It was almost curfew when Professor Hamming finally showed up. She never did randomly "pop in" like she had said.

The Ravenclaw Head of House walked into the closet and looked scrutinized every little corner. Then, she pulled out her wand and muttered a spell. Professor Hamming smiled, obviously satisfied, and walked out to face Vi and Damon.

"Well done. It seems you two are capable of getting along when necessary. It is almost time for students to be in their Commons. I suggest you head to your respected Houses with haste."

Damon and Vi exchanged a look when she said the first sentence. Once she had said all she had to say, the two departed. When Vi walked into the Ravenclaw Common Room, she could have swore her entire House was there waiting for her.

"How did it go?"

"Did he actually help?"

"They didn't torture you, did they?"

"Of course not! Does she look like she was tortured?"

Vi put up her hand to stop all the battering of questions aimed her way. "It was fine," she answered. Instead of standing around to hear another bombardment of questions, Vi headed up to her dorm and fell into a much needed slumber.

The sun shining in her eyes was the reason Vi didn't sleep all day. Vi grumbled as she sat up, very ticked that someone had opened the curtains. She rolled out of bed and checked the time.

"9:45? Oh, crap!" she exclaimed. Her first class was halfway over! As swiftly as her body would move, she threw on her robes and grabbed her bag. She raced down the main staircase and into the Dungeons. Professor Flemmons gave her a hard stare as she burst into the class.

"Ms. Gremond, I'm so glad you could make it," he sneered. "You have missed the lesson and will not have time to brew today's potion. I suggest you get the notes from a classmate. You will have to brew it on your own if you want the grade."

Vi grumbled for the second time that morning. Today was not a good day. She scanned the room for an empty seat, to find that the only spot available was next to the person she loathed the most. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she trudged over.

"What do you want?" Damon snapped at her.

Vi really wasn't in the mood for this. "It's the last seat, and I'm sitting in it. What does it look like?" she snapped back.

"This seat's taken," he smirked.

"I don't see anyone in it," Vi retorted.

Damon's smirk faded. "Well, it's taken," he said with a note of finality in his voice.

Vi dropped her bag on the ground and sat down, anyways. Damon's face went scarlet.

"I said it's taken! Are you deaf?"

"And I said I didn't see anybody sitting in it, so bugger off!" Vi yelled.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Flemmons shouted, storming over to their table.

Vi shot Damon a venomous glare before answering. "He won't let me sit here."

Professor Flemmons folded his arms. "It looks like you're sitting to me, Ms. Gremond."

Vi rolled her eyes. "Obviously."

"I will not tolerate your insubordinance, Ms. Gremond. Twenty points from Ravenclaw," the Professor snarled before walking to somewhere else in the classroom.

"Thanks a lot," Vi growled.

Damon smirked again. "Anytime."

Vi looked around for someone to borrow the notes from. As it turned out, everyone was too preoccupied. Vi cursed under her breath at her bad luck. After much consideration, she turned to Damon.

"Can I see your notes?" she asked, wishing she could scold her mouth out for asking the git for anything.

Damon raised an eyebrow at her. "Why? Can't you get them elsewhere?"

Vi sighed. "No, I can't. Everyone is busy, if you didn't notice, and are using their notes."

"What makes you think I'm not using mine?" Damon taunted.

"Because you've been sitting here doing nothing for the past five minutes," she snorted.

Damon folded his arms and glowered. "No, you can't."

Vi knew this was going to be more complicated than it had to be. "I tell you what. You let me borrow the notes, I'll do all the work tonight. Deal?"

Damon examined her for a moment, searching for any signs of deceit. Much to his distaste, he said "Deal." He handed her the notes, and Vi spent the rest of the class copying them down. The bell rang just as Vi finished writing. She put away her things and pushed the notes back to Damon.

"Thanks," she mumbled. She shouldered her bag and turned to leave. Damon stared after her like she was a maniac.

"Thanks? Since when do you say 'thanks'?" he asked, seriously curious.

Vi didn't even look back. "It's called being polite. Accept it and move on."

Damon scratched his head then shook it. He just couldn't understand her. One minute she was a bratty little b-...well, something unpleasant, and then she was thanking him? She had to be smoking nettles or something. He gathered his things, stuffing the notes into his bag at random, and headed to his next class.

The day passed by so quickly, Vi couldn't figure out where the time had went. She had been jam-packed all day. When she wasn't in class, she was working on assignments that she didn't complete the night before or she was gathering everything for the potion she had to turn in. All in all, Vi had had a very busy day.

It was almost five-thirty, and Vi had finally finished all of her assignments, even the potion. She stretched as she stood; her body had been leaned over a table for...well, all day really. Now, she would have to scrub pots for the rest of the night. It would be on an empty stomach, too, as she had skipped dinner to do her work. "The only thing that could make today worse is if I did get expelled," she grumbled, like she had been doing since she had to every inconvenience she encountered so far.

She headed down to the Dungeons for the second time. Vi hated it down there, and she especially didn't like having to go twice in a single day. Professor Hamming was there again. Damon had also made it on time, much to her surprise.

"I'm glad to see you both learned how to be on time. You'll be scrubbing cauldrons tonight. Wands, please," Professor Hamming requested. She held out her hand like she had the night before. This time, both Vi and Damon handed them over without any resistance. "Splendid! Don't think I won't drop in tonight, because I didn't the last time around. Get to work," she ordered.

The two walked into the Potions classroom to find cauldrons littered over the tops of every desk. Vi groaned inwardly, but Damon had snobbish expression. The cheeky little skrewt was too smug for her liking. The Slytherin waited until the Professor left before opening his mouth.

"I assume you remember the deal. Chop chop!" he laughed, clapping his hands.

Vi fought the urge to break his hands and moved to the first pot. Damon stayed close by in case Professor Hamming walked in. He just watched Vi scrub and smirked the whole while. It irritated her to no end. He was such a prat. Did he have to rub it in with that stupid smirk?

The Professor didn't show up until Vi was halfway done. Damon had heard her walking down the hall, so he bent over with his hands in a pot and pretended to be cleaning.

"Ah!" she sighed. "You're doing so well! I'm sure you'll have this done before curfew. I have business to attend to again, so you may leave whenever you're finished. They must all be cleaned, however. I will see to it that your wands are returned to your dorms. Goodnight!" the Professor waved as she exited, closing the door behind her.

Damon stood up and jumped for joy. "Yes! I can leave! Later, pigeon," he called.

Vi slammed her fist on the table. "You are not leaving me here by myself! And what kind of insult is 'pigeon' anyway?"

Damon wheeled around to face her. "Actually, I am leaving you here by yourself. There's nothing for me to do. We had a deal. As for the name, you'd think you'd be happy I didn't call you a hag!"

"You are such a prat!" she screamed, throwing the scrubber at him. It hit him right in the nose. His hand immediately went to the already-injured spot and tears welled in his eyes.

"OW!" he bellowed. He picked up a chair and hurled it at her. She dodged, but a leg broke upon hitting the floor.

"Great, now you're breaking even more things that aren't yours!" she huffed. Damon stormed out of the room, trying to hide the tears that started rolling down his face. It really hurt!

Vi let out a stream of curses as she picked up the broken chair leg. She groaned and went to the Potions closet. She dug around until she found a sticking potion and rubbed some on the place where the leg had split off. After fixing the chair, she put it in the back of the class where, hopefully, nobody would notice. It wasn't perfect. Vi went back to the pots and scrubbed them as hard as she could. Her anger had dissipated when she had finished. Her body was exhausted when she put down the scrubber for the last time. Her long day was over, but it was only the beginning.


End file.
